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Rotary Club president Jeff Cheek said he participated in a "Rise Against Hunger" meal packing event at a Rotary conference in Atlanta and wanted to replicate it at home.

"I said if they can do this instead of a trade show, why can't we do this in place of a meeting?" he said.

Cheek found out ORISE would soon cut the ribbon on a new warehouse extension and requested to use the space.

ORISE Director Jim Vosburg said the Institute decided not only to host the event, but to make it the building's grand opening.

The meals cost 29 cents each, which volunteers had to raise funds for. ORAU and ORISE put up about $4,000 toward the cost and paid employees for volunteer shifts done on company time.

The Oak Ridge Rotary Club contributed about $2,000.

The first shift packaged 8,000 meals at a rate of almost three per second. By the end of the day, the group packaged 20,000 meals.

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Bagged dehydrated meals wait to be sealed at a warehouse on ORAU's south campus in Oak Ridge on Thursday, March 8, 2018.(Photo: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel )

Each meal packaged will feed four people, according to Rise Against Hunger program manager Eric Taft. Taft said Rise Against Hunger has sent meals to 74 countries, including Zambia, Madagascar, Haiti and Nicaragua.

The organization also supported hurricane relief efforts last year after all three major hurricanes that affected U.S. states and territories.

"We know that we produce enough food to end hunger," he said. "It's not a production problem, its a passion problem, and these volunteers showed that passion through their collaboration here."

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Volunteers pack dehydrated meals into bags for crisis zones around the world at a warehouse on ORAU's south campus in Oak Ridge on Thursday, March 8, 2018.(Photo: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel )